Conveyer



May 4 19226. 1,583,093

D. PARKER coNvEYER Filed June -1:5. 1925 ToRNl-:Y

Patented May 4, 1926.

lib-MTE STATES igssaosnl DONALD PARI-inn, or rnnsno, CALIFORNIA.

conversa;

Application filed June l13, 1925. Serial No. 36,808.

To eZZ whom it may concern.'-

Be it known that l, DoNALD Pannen, a citizen ol' vthe United States7 residing at Fresno, in the ycounty of Fresno and State of California, have invented certain new and useful ln'ip'rovements in'Conveyers, of which the following is a speciiication.

In the present embodiment ol' gravity conveyers it has been found desirable to interrupt the gravity movement ot articles thereon and during such time of interruption to separate the articles or space the ends of adjacent articles from each other. rifhis is particularly'true in pac-king house. gravity conveyors wherein lugr yboxes filled with fruit move by gravity tov certain points in the packing house. Under present conditions, it is extremely diiiicnlt when these filled boxes are contacting in end to end rclation to remove a box from the line due to the diliiculty in obtaining a hold on the end of the box and also diie to the end friction between adjacent boxes. v

present invention relates to a device or a conveyer structure whereby the morementor. gravity travel ofthe vboxes may be interrupted and during sach time oi' interruption a nuinberof the boxes on the conveyer may be separated Jirom endcontact with each other to enable the withdrawingot a box from the line.

The inventionv consists primarily in interposing in a conveyer a series of tilta-ble hat pivoted sections normally positioned with their upper surface in parallel relation with the remainder of the conveyer but adapted for pivotal movementto dispose the surface of their associated conveying members at an angle preferably in a direction reverse to the gravity flow of-tlieboxes.

iV-ith the above mentioned and other objects in View, the invention consists in the novel construction and combination of parts hereinafter described, illustrated in the accompanying drawings, and set forth in the claims hereto appended, it being` understood that various changes in the torni, proportion, size and minor details of construction within the scope of the claims may be resorted to without departing from the spirit or sacrificing any of the advantages oit the invention.

To more fully comprehend the invention reference is directed to the accompanying drawings, wherein Fig. l is a view in side elevation of one embodiment of my invention as'applied to a roller convey'er.

Fig. 2 is a view in top alan ci' tric construct-ion illustrated in Fig. l.

Referring more particularly to the drawingswherein like characters ot reference' designate corresponding parte, the numerals l indicate 'the supporting legsot the con-1 veyor side 'trame -niembers preferably arranged in parallelspaced relation and at a slight inclination toward one end to allord av grat-ity movement ol receptacles to-beI conyeyed.- in the present illustration, a plurality ot parallel spaced conveyor rollers 3 are disposed transversely between the trainev members and rotate as at d at their ends in the frame members 2. rlie rollers 3 in the present illustration are Igrouped at opposite ends of the frame members 2 a-llording a space substantially centrally or the ia'ie members 2. ln this space designated pairs ot auxiliary trame men'ibers 5 tul- .pace A between the main frame members 2, Depending' trom each' ot the VVauxiliary trame members 5 is a lever 8, the same be-v lf* the letter l". are positioned a pluralityadjacent groupsare carried by auxiliary 'ra-mes independently'pivoted within thev ingv illustrated as pivotally connected at.

theirlower ends to 'a connecting rod9 which is 1n turn iulcrumed' as at l0 to la pivotally mounted hand lever ll.v The length of the auxiliary tran/ics approximates t-he length of the article, in thisgcase a boxj which the conreyer is designed to accommodate. In operation, lled boxes are delivered onto the upper end ot the conveyor and roll by gravity toward the lower end being` supported by the rollers l and 7. An operator, desiring' to remove abox from the line7 or to interrupt the travel of the boxes downwardly of the conveyer, operates the handle 11 to tilt the auxiliary fra-mes to the dotted line position in the drawings. This movement interrupts the flow of boxes in rear of the auxiliary trames, causes the box overlyingrthe auxiliary frames to separa-te at their adjacent ends enabling the operator to grasp the ends of the desired tilted box and remove the same from the line. Movement of the lever 1l in an opposite direction will align rollers 7 with rollers 3 and permit the bex to pass by gravity over the conveyer.

It Will be observed that in the above described operation the boxes when tilted Will be caused to move a slight distance back- Wardly on their respective rollers 7, and With the end Wall contacting with the end roller of a successive frame, and this pivoted movement, While but slight, causes a separation of the end Walls of the box from. each other and enables a ready grasping of the box end for removal from the conveyer.

It is to be understood that an entire conveyer may be constructed in this manner, and also that the auxiliary frames may only form a portion thereof, distributed throughout its length as efiiciency requires. It is also to be understood that While I have illustrated a plurality of `auxiliary frames pivoted by one .lever a separate lever may be provided for pivoting each frame, and it is to be understood that the fulcruin point or spindle preferably the central roller 7 of the respective auxiliary frame members is illustrated to form the fulcrum mounting for the respective auxiliary frames, and that a separate fulcrum connection for the frame may be provided if desired.

I claim:-

l. A conveyer consisting of a plurality of rotatable conveyer rollers normally disposed With their upper surfaces in substantially the same plane, and means for positioning groups of said conveyer rollers at similar inclinations with the corresponding rollers of adjacent groups in different parallel .planes 2. A conveyer consisting of a plurality of rotatable conveyer rollers normally disposed with their upper surfaces in substantially the saine plane, and means for positioning groups of said conveyer rollers at similar inclinations reverse to the direction of travel of articles on the conveyer, and with the e. An mcllned conveyer, longitudinally o1 which articles move by gravity during the conveying thereof, and means for disposing a portion ofthe surface of successive adjacent portions of said conveyer at an incline reverse to the direction of travel of the articles on the conveyer With the adjacent ends of adjacent portions in di'erent horizontal planes.

fl. A conveyer consisting of a main frame and a plurality of auxiliary frames disposed longitudinally thereof and pivotally mounted therein on an axis transversely disposed relative to the main frame, a plurality of conveying rollers rotatably carried by the auxiliary frames and constituting the supporting surface of the conveyer, and means for tilting adjacent auxiliary frames end- Wise.

5. A conveyer consisting of a main frame, a plurality of rotatable conveying rollers disposed transversely lthereof for a portion of its length, va plurality of auxiliary frames fulcrumed Within said main frame on an axis transversely thereof, a plurality of rollers carried by the auxiliary frames and disposed transversely of the main frame, said main and auxiliary frame rollers constituting the conveying bed, armsV extending from said auxiliary frames, means connecting said arms and an operatingdevice for said means whereby adjacent auxiliary frames are simultaneously inclined endivise within said main frame.

6. In combination With a conveyer longi tudinally of which a plurality of articles are adapted for movement by gravity with their ends in contact, of means Within the length of said conveyer for operation to dispose the articles at an incline to the horizontal to arrest the movement of the said articles thereon with their ends .spaced from the corresponding ends of the adjacent arrested articles. s

In testimony whereof I have signed my name to this specification.

DONALD PARKER. 

